This invention relates in general to dough shaping apparatus employed to form dough bodies of desired configuration prior to baking items such donuts, bagels or the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to a dough receiving, shaping, dividing and forming machine for making dough bodies of a predetermined weight and configuration of an initially unshaped batch of dough in a continuous manner.
In the toroid forming machine of my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,940, a partially preshaped batch of dough of fairly uniform width was supplied on a conveyor to a dough divider means which divided the batch into two strips of dough which were subsequently cut into rectangular strip parts suitable for forming between a stationary mandrel and moving forming cups into dough toroids suitable for use in making bagels. In the arrangement of that machine, emphasis was placed on providing an easily cleaned toroid forming apparatus with an improved frame assembly for mounting the dough divider subassembly and dough forming subassemblies on a single frame and all of the moving parts of the dough divider and dough forming subassemblies were driven by a single motor in a continuous and uniform manner.
I have determined that it would be more desirable to provide a dough divider and forming machine which is capable of receiving a substantially unshaped batch of dough having width and height dimensions at least greater then some minimum amount and which can then preshape the batch into a rough preshape suitable for receipt in a divider mechanism which will divide the dough with a minimum of working into dough parts suitable for forming not only toroids, as in my prior machine of U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,940, but also dough parts of different configuration for use in other baking procedures. Further, I have determined that it would be very desirable to have such a machine in which the infeed of dough could be controlled so that the divider is constantly supplied with adequate amounts of dough and yet is not over supplied in such a manner as to cause over compression and thus overworking of the dough as it is being formed into dough parts suitable for introduction into a dough forming apparatus as shown in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,940.